The_Overdog wrote:That didn't answer the question. What is the other driver in that specific area?
Not sure which "specific area" you are talking about. But in general, I don't really know what may or may not have caused the density, but probably has to do with access to highways, access to jobs, etc. What is very clear for most of the densely populated census tracts is that the density has not been caused by the Red Line.
Out of about 24 dense (over 10,000/square mile) census tracts along the Red Line/US 75 corridor, I can find about 5 for which a reasonable argument can be made that the Red Line caused their population density (and even for those, it's only a reasonable, straight-faced argument, not a slam dunk by any means).
Starting from the north. The northernmost densely populated census tract is 319.04, at the intersection of US 75 and PGBT. This is one of the few for which a reasonable claim can be made for the density having been induced by the Red Line.
The next group of census tracts is a cluster at the northwest quadrant of US 75 and I-635. Yes, at a glance it is along the Red Line route. But the nearest station is Spring Valley, on the other side of US 75. The very nearest residences I can find are more than 1 mile from the Spring Valley Station (and it would be anything but a pleasant walk). Keep in mind, this is the very closest. Every other residence in those 4 densely-populated tracts is even further. It's pretty clear the density of these tracts has nothing to do with the Red Line.
The next possibility is Census Tract 131.07. It contains a concentration of apartments (most of which appear to pre-date the Red Line. Regardless, the nearest point to a Red Line Station is about 1 mile (and not a particularly pleasant walk).
Census Tract 78.15 looks like one of the better candidates, but the vast majority of the residences are well over 1/2 mile from a Red Line Station (and, again, not a particularly pleasant pedestrian experience). (And most of it probably pre-dates the Red Line.)
Then there is a cluster of 7 tracts at the southeast corner of US 75 and Northwest Highway. There may be an argument for the southernmost two of those (but even those suffer from the facts that a good portion of the density probably predates the Red Line and most of it is well more than 1/2 mile from a station. The other five tracts in this cluster are just too far from a station to make a reasonable argument that they were densified because of the Red Line (in addition to substantially predating the Red Line).
Then we move on South and get to the pie-shaped Tract 7.06 and 7.05 directly South. Everybody living in those tracts is about a mile (and most cases more) from a Red Line Station.
A decent argument can be made for 7.03 (South of Fitzhugh), but even there, a good portion of the tract is more than 1/2 mile from the Station.
7.04 (between Blackburn and Lemmon) I'll give you.
17.03 (South of Lemmon): the vast majority of the residential in this tract is well over 1/2 mile from the Station.
East of US75, Tract 9.01 (between Henderson and Fitzhugh) and 9.02 (to the Southeast of 9.01): not close to a station.
8.02, between Fitzhugh and Haskell (and 8.01 to its Southeast)The bulk of the residential in this tract is well over 1/2 mile from a Station.
Even for 16.01, between Haskell and Hall, which actually contains the entrance to a Station, the argument for the Red Line causing the density is weak because almost all of the residential is more than 1/2 mile from the Station.
16.02 to the South and Southeast of 16.01 is just too far from any Station.